SOME PODCAST THAT ARE A MUST-LISTEN IF YOU WORK IN THE FILM INDUSTRY

Well, of course a must-listen is relative, but I do think these podcast are super helpful and informative for anyone in the film industry.

1. The Treatment:

My favorite is Elvis Mitchell's The Treatmenton KCRW. I don't think there is a better interviewer living today. I am not only amazed by Elvis's immense knowledge but what I think makes him so special, is that he possess a sensitivity and understanding of the bigger picture of a filmmakers/writer/producer's internal inspiration, motivation and intention. Actually most of the times, he surprises the interviewees themselves when he points out something seemingly obvious about their life work, which they themselves had not been aware of. I love those moments because they make his interviews so rich.

Psst, don't tell anyone, but I would count it as one of the biggest accomplishments if Elvis were to invite me on his show- right up there with winning an Oscar!

2. The Business:

Another great podcast is Kim Masters's The Business. Kim is Editor-at-Large of the Hollywood Reporter, and she covers film, as well as TV. This is a great one to stay up to date with what is the buzz in the Hollywood Entertainment world on a weekly basis and also feature insightful interviews with filmmakers and other shakers in the industry.

3. The Spin-Off:

Kim Masters created The Spin-Offwith Joe Adalian, and Michael Schneider, her banter buddies on The Business, after the three realized that the world of TV business deserves a podcast all on its own. Similarly to The Business, this podcast will keep you up to date on what is happening in the business this week, but specifically regarding the TV world, and of course it also features great interviews with creators of the TV business.

4. The Frame

The Frame on KPCC hosted by John Horn is another fantastic podcast that should be on everyone's list, even though it is much broader because it also covers art, music, publishing; basically anything related to media and art. Since it airs every weekday, I just pick and choose the podcasts which focus on film and TV.

5. Voice of VR

With many of you, like myself, having made or making or thinking about making the switch into VR & AR, I recommend you check out Voices of VR. The podcast is published three to five days a week featuring interviews with the pioneering game developers, enthusiasts, and technologists driving the resurgence of virtual reality. It’s hosted by Kent Bye, who has traveled to the top VR gatherings around the world since May 2014 to bring you a diverse range of VR perspectives and insights from over 500 makers and seasoned academics. When I first started working in this field two years ago, it is here that I learned the lingo I needed to translate my wild ideas into reality and also about the technology currently available and the challenges others face which relate to my own and helped me grow as a VR content creator.

I am only listing my favorite industry podcasts here, but I also recommend that as a storyteller you add story podcasts like The Moth, This American Life or Strangers to your listening list. These story podcasts are a wonderful source of inspiration for ideas for storylines and characters for me.

HOW TO AVOID “ON THE NOSE” DIALOGUE

Dialogue, it’s a crucial part of any successful script, but also the easiest element to get wrong. Novice writers will often write flat dialogue where characters simply state how they feel, asserting a beat within a scene instead of massaging it into place. If a character is tired, a flat piece of dialogue will express that beat in a line like “I’m sleepy.” while richer dialogue might have the character remark at the time, showing the day has gotten away from him, while matching his words with the action of a yawn. Stating “I’m tired” to express the beat “I’m tired” is obvious, and it’s what’s known as “On the Nose” dialogue.

So, how do we avoid this common mistake?

Well, one way to avoid this might seem counterintuitive, but it could work for you in the long run. If you want to avoid on the nose dialogue, write on the nose dialogue. It’s simple, the better we understand a problem, the easier it is to avoid it when we come across it later. Many writers struggle with scene structure and often times this boils down to the fact that they don’t fully understand what their characters want going into the scene and they get lost along the way. Sitting down to write flat, on the nose dialogue before you even begin to write a scene can help you visualize and focus in on what it is that a character wants in any individual scene. Once this is out there, the writer can take those raw beats, emotions, and feelings from the on the nose dialogue and infuse it into the subtext of the scene they’re about to write.

Here’s a short example from a scene most of you will be familiar with. In Jaws, there’s an early encounter between Hooper, the young scientist who relies on gadgets and technology to deal with the shark, and Quint, the hardened fisherman who finds all that silly. The beats of the scene unfold like this: Quint thinks Hooper looks like an ass with all of his equipment, Hooper counters by stating it’s all necessary, and Quint thinks it’ll get him killed.

Here’s what the scene would look like with on the nose dialogue.

Quint: You don’t need all that stuff. You look dumb.

Hooper: I’ll have you know, this stuff is important and special.

Quint: The shark is going to kill you.

And here’s how the real scene plays out:

Do you see how the exchange takes the beats of the scene –what is obvious about what’s going on– and buries it underneath charm, quips, and even a song. Quint doesn’t call Hooper stupid, he makes a joke at Hooper’s expense, calling him a “half-assed astronaut”. Hooper shows us his equipment is important simply by naming it, and Quint doesn’t flat out tell Hooper that he’s going to die, he just reiterates what a cage does before he starts to sing a song about sailors who are never seen again. The beats are the same, one is just more obvious than the other.

Early drafts are usually full of on the nose dialogue. That’s okay, you’re still figuring everything out at that stage. Don’t waste it. Use the flat, obvious dialogue to better understand your characters. When you know the intention of what’s being said, it’s easier to come up with creative ways to hide it.

You’re not alone with this problem, but next time you’re looking at a page that’s on the nose, remember, you don’t look dumb, you’re a half-assed astronaut.

A production coordinator working in Indie Horror, Rob Clarke is a screenwriter and reader determined to help other writers improve their work. You can listen to him every week on his podcast, the Upside Fans, where he dissects Fandom and Pop Culture from a positive point of view. @JurassiClarke